Reading project to be scaled back, claims teaching organisation
An initiative that has helped five and six-year-old pupils is being scaled back, the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has claimed.
The Reading Recovery Project, which saw the previous government invest £144 million over the course of three years in training 18,000 teachers, has been described as the single most important scheme in helping slower learners improve their reading by NAHT head Russell Hobby, the Independent reports.
Compared with children on other programmes, pupils in the scheme, which involves daily one-to-one half-hour reading sessions, improved their reading ability by 20 months after 12 to 20 weeks, according to research by London University's Institute of Education.
"Schools are either giving it up or cutting back on the number of pupils they help," the Telegraph quoted Mr Hobby as saying.
The Department of Education meanwhile claimed it had "secured the best possible settlement" for schools in the harsh economic climate.
By giving head teachers complete freedom over school budgets, the department added it trusts school leaders will know "where the money needs to be spent to make the biggest impact".
